Table of Contents

A look at 15 basic, but essential, gear pieces you’ll need for your first race.

The sport of triathlon has three simple disciplines—you swim, you bike, you run. But you need a few key pieces of equipment to get yourself from the start line along the water’s edge to the finish line. And despite what you see at races–all the lightweight this and carbon fiber that–you don’t have to break the bank to get from point A to point B. Here’s a list of the bare essentials you really need to be ready for training and race day.

Bike
Duh. Hard to do a triathlon without a bike. What kind do you need? If you’re just getting into the sport and doing your local sprint race, it can be your beach cruiser or mountain bike. If you’re diving in with an Olympic-distance race, we think Dad’s old 10-speed will do the trick. If the tri bug bites you, then you can start thinking about getting a more appropriate bike, maybe with clip-on aerobars. But for now, any bike will do. Be sure to take it to your local shop to be sure everything’s tight and safe, that the tires are aired up and that the chain is lubed (nothing like hearing squeak squeak squeak for 10 miles). Don’t worry about feeling fast just yet—that’ll come later.